A new report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that our warming world is increasingly putting workers at risk, requiring a focused, coordinated effort from all relevant stakeholders.
Drawing on five decades of research and evidence, the report highlights the impact of heat stress on both outdoor and indoor workers, hurting their health and productivity. Over 2.4 billion people around the world – more than 70 percent of the working population – experience workplace heat stress, according to estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO). Excessive heat at work is linked to 22.85 million occupational injuries and 18,970 deaths annually, underscoring the human cost of not addressing heat stress exposure.
“Without bold coordinated action, heat stress will become one of the most devastating occupational hazards of our time,” Joaquim Pintado Nunes, chief of the branch responsible for occupational safety and health at the ILO, said during a press briefing.
A healthy body can regulate core body temperature between 36.5°C and 37.5°C when at rest. However, when active or wearing protective gear that reduces the body’s ability to cool itself with sweat, even a healthy person may struggle to cool down. Prolonged periods with a core body temperature above 38°C can have potentially catastrophic consequences. Heat stress starts off mild enough, with symptoms like a heat rash, cramps or fatigue, which can be addressed with sufficient time to cool off, rest and rehydrate. But prolonged stress can result in heat stroke, kidney dysfunction, long-term neurological damage – even death.
[See more: Extreme heat is more deadly than we thought, studies show]
Heat kills more people globally than any other weather phenomena, responsible for around 489,000 deaths annually between 2000 and 2019, a figure that is only expected to grow as climate change worsens.
People with certain chronic conditions, children and older adults are particularly vulnerable due to their more limited ability to thermoregulate. Making the public more aware of the dangers, educating first responders and healthcare workers on accurately diagnosing and treating heat stress symptoms are just two strategies highlighted in the report.
The report stresses the need to develop occupational heat-health policies with tailored plans and advisories that consider local weather patterns, specific jobs and worker vulnerabilities. By engaging all stakeholders – in the workplace, healthcare and local government – to collaboratively create strategies, solutions are more likely to be effective and enjoy broad support. Emphasising practical, affordable and environmentally sustainable policies will also help to protect as many people as possible.
“Protection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative,” said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett, “but an economic necessity.”
